Case against Luis Posada Carriles takes welcome turn

[Judi Lynn]

Case against Luis Posada Carriles takes welcome turn
February 22, 2011|By Wayne S. Smith

Astonishing! And just when many of us were convinced that the trial of Luis Posada Carriles was simply a farce. After all, wasn't the U.S. government just trying this arch terrorist for perjury, for lying about the way he entered the United States (illegally of course), leaving aside his myriad terrorist activities?

But no. U.S. prosecutors have now presented evidence of terrorist acts he committed against Cuba, and in Cuba. He's still not being tried for terrorism; rather, he's accused of having lied about it. But the result may well be the same. If he's convicted, he'll spend a long time in jail. And the conviction will be tied to his acts of terrorism.

Even more incredibly, much of the evidence is being presented by Cuban officials invited by the United States to testify against him. This is really a first.

Posada Carriles is accused on three counts of perjury related to a series of bombings against various Cuban hotels between April and September of 1997, resulting in the death of an Italian tourist. He lied about them, and the United States intends to prove that the bombings, in fact, took place.

More:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-02-22/news/fl-wscol-luis-posada-carriles-smith-020110222_1_cuban-witnesses-cuban-hotels-cuban-officials

Wayne Smith served as Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1979 until 1982 and since then has been on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University, involved in Cuban affairs. Since 1992 he has also been Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C. , where he directs the Cuba program.

[Peace Patriot]

1. I don't know about this interpretation of Luis Posada Carriles' U.S. trial.

I would like to believe that the U.S. government actually cares about Posada's atrocities against Cubans and others. But I know too much about current and recent past U.S. policy and activity in Latin America to believe that this trial has that or any altruistic purpose.

Yes, it is rather interesting to see a CIA asset getting tried for lying. But what about his handlers? For one thing. And what about CURRENT U.S. support for and cover up of the massive crimes of Bush Cartel asset, Alvaro Uribe, in Colombia? For another. And what about CURRENT U.S. support for and cover up of yet more horrendous crimes in Honduras? For a third.

Nope, this is a "show trial." And the only puzzle is, what is its real objective?

Posada has been rather a blabby-mouth. So that may be part of it--punishment. Another part of it may be U.S. corporate/war profiteer and mafia interests in ripping Cuba open to their "tender mercies" once again. With Cuba's protective monarchy (Fidel and Raul) about to die of old age, the opportunity for ravaging Cuba's health and educational systems, and its beautiful, non-corporatized beaches, is certainly opening up. So have they provided this sop to Cuba's elders--some kind of half-assed trial of their old nemesis, Posada Carriles--in order to convince younger Cubans that the U.S. means well?

And a fourth question is: What about Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld? We're prosecuting an anti-Cuban airline bomber and hotel bomber for lying, but the bombers of Baghad, who slaughtered a hundred thousand innocent people in the first weeks of the invasion alone, get a pass? And their goddamn WMD lies get a pass?

I frankly think that, in addition to everything else, the Bush Junta committed war crimes in Colombia (U.S. military or U.S. military 'contractor' participation in the "turkey shoots" there against human rights workers, community activists, labor leaders, peasant farmers and others), which are, at this moment, being aggressively covered by the Obama administration, the Clinton State Department, the Holder DoJ, and the Panetta (Daddy Bush pal) CIA.

We KNOW that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder helped cover up Chiquita International's use of death squads to take care of their 'labor problem' in Colombia, and recently helped extradite Colombia death squad witnesses to the U.S. on mere drug charges--out of the reach of Colombian prosecutors and over their objections. It is likely, also, that the CIA got the chief spying witness against Uribe out of Colombia and given instant asylum in the U.S. client state of Panama--also out of the reach of Colombian prosecutors and over their objections. And the coddling of Uribe here--academic sinecures at Georgetown and Harvard, and so on--has been obscene.

This entire U.S. administration could be called just one big coverup of U.S. war crimes.

So why are they trying Posada Carriles? It does not fit their pattern in the least. Ergo, we need to figure out their ulterior motives.

The CIA just throwing one of their own over, cuz they don't like him any more (and he talked too much)? As I said, could be part of it.

Credits needed in South America to help 'divide and conquer" the leftist governments that now cover much of the continent? (--so they can say to the new leftist president of Brazil, for instance, that Venezuela has no human rights beef with the U.S. any more (Posada Carriles is wanted in Venezuela for the Cubana airline bombing)--'we've taken care of it'--'so you can ally with us now against your RIVAL, Venezuela.') (Prior leftist president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, worked closely with Chavez--something the U.S. BADLY wants to "divide and conquer.")

Or is it all those pristine beaches in Cuba, just crying out for Hilton hotels and mafia mansions?

Or something else I haven't though of? (I did think for a while that there might be an internal CIA vs FBI tussle going on. But that was just a first stab at it. I'm less inclined toward that notion now.)

[Peace Patriot]

2. Here's another possibility: Trade of Posada Carriles for Alan Gross?

Bingo?

[EFerrari]

3. That's sounds like a real possibility.

PJ Crawly (sic) was tweeting about Gross last weekend, i.e., he hopes the trial is fair, what Gross did is not a crime. So you know the issue is "up" over at State.

[social_critic]

4. I don't think that'll work

The Cubans want the five spies for Gross. Posada Carriles is an old guy, he'll go to jail, and stay there until he dies.

This trial really lacks impact, everybody knows Posada is a terrorist. The trial I really want to see is the Makled trial, after the US gets him from Colombia late this year.

[Peace Patriot]

5. Here's a good rundown on Posada's trial by a lawyer who knows all about the judge.

VERY interesting article. The judge is a total Bushwhack--appointed judge by Junior as gov of Tx, voted out by the voters, re-appointed by Jr, voted out again, then finally made a Fed judge by Jr.--lifetime appointment. WHAT has she done (or been tasked to do) to deserve all THAT?

http://www.counterpunch.org/pertierra02182011.html

Whew. Very dirty judge. I'd forgotten this, but her initial DISMISSAL of the case against Posada was TOSSED out by the Fed appeals court and sent back to her for trial.

Judges (whoever they are) don't like to be overturned. And she'd better have a damn good reason if she does it again.

Here's another excellent article about this trial. Both are by Jose Pertierra, who is attending the trial in person. His account from a few weeks ago gives you the flavor of these proceedings, as well as background on the grandstanding motions recently filed by the defense attorney (for Posada Carilles).

http://www.counterpunch.org/pertierra02162011.html

This puts a new coloration on the whole thing. But it could just be this: Bushwhacks think fascist murderers shouldn't even be on trial--should be able to whack whomever they wish with total impunity. So Judge Cardone was told to dismiss the case against Posada. (It wouldn't surprise me if the Bush Cartel brought him on the yacht to the U.S., to reward their old killer with a cushy retirement in Miami.) The Obama team, on the other hand, is playing a different game in Latin America--for instance, with the democracy cosmetics they've slapped on Honduras, and have tried to slap like a Marx Bros movie on Haiti, and have encouraged in Colombia (where lesser players, who have not been extradited to U.S. federal prison obscurity, or given asylum in Panama, can get prosecuted--but not Uribe--but where Uribe's insane Bushwhacky behavior toward Venezuela was nipped in the bud I think by Panetta himself). I think the Obama team is under some kind of compulsion to cover up Bush Junta war & corruption (cocaine) crimes in Colombia (Panetta cleaning up Jr's trail?).

But they do seem to have a new strategy in Latin America, which is to bombard the region with zillions of USAID (and Pentagon psyops) dollars to bolster up rightwing forces so they can look more 'democratic' and not like such heinous, coup-plotting horrors (and they seem to have had some success with this in Venezuela, in the by-elections). So they are on another tack, which is, basically: PURCHASE the region. And they seem to have a pathological desire to make this look "peaceful" and "democratic," no matter how hideous it is. And this is probably because the region's leaders, for the most part, are pretty damn good. They have been VERY SMART about resisting "divide and conquer" tactics, for instance, and thus have been able to make considerable progress on social justice goals and regional independence. They all hated the Bushwhacks and it was easy to pull together against them. It might not be so easy, with a more presentable imperial crowd presiding in Washington (and traveling south in March).

Posada Carilles may be Hillary's "Exhibit A" for a new, fake, cosmetic U.S. charade of respect for human rights. ('Look, we aired some of that dirty laundry in public! Aren't we great?') Thus all relevant parties--FBI, DoJ and probably even the the appeals court--under this new regime, were given a green light to prosecute and get some sort of sentence before the old killer dies of old age.

Sorry, I really can't help the sarcasm when it comes to U.S. (corporate/war profiteer) policy in Latin America. Its intentions are evil, whether it is blowing people out of the sky, or training rightwing groups in how to formulate "talking points." Its purposes are as anti-democratic, and as oblivious to the lives of the poor, as they are here. I have no tolerance for disguised versions of these very bad intentions. I think we are looking at a U.S. corporate/war profiteer "good cop/bad cop" effort to reconquer the parts of Latin America that have gotten away, to hang on by tooth and claw to the parts that are still subjugated and if democracy cosmetics don't work, the killers will be back, maybe for a full scale oil war (which the Miami mafia in the Scumbag Congress are already salivating to do).

Posada Carilles is just a old rusty cog in this war machine, past usefulness--except as 'cause celebre' in Miami for rallying our own bloody fascists. I was going to say that I almost feel sorry for him but I will save my sorrow for the youngsters he blew out of the sky and for all of the thousands and thousands of victims of U.S. policy in Latin America. As Lula da Silva recently said, in his final speech as president of Brazil, "The U.S. had not changed."

[Peace Patriot]

6. Here's another excellent article by Jose Pertierra on this trial...

(a little further back in time)

http://www.counterpunch.org/pertierra02112011.html

Pertierra is simply excellent at laying out the legal issues and the legal maneuverings (as well as the circles of political intrigue that ripple out from this courtroom).